There exists a currently trend in the automobile sector toward vehicles having large glassed surfaces in the area of the roof.
In this sense, vehicles with a “panoramic roof” are common, in which a large area or surface of the roof, conventionally made of metal plate, is made of glass.
Within this trend there is a new vehicle design known as “panoramic windshield”, in which the front windshield pane is longer and extends towards the rear, occupying part of the traditional roof of the vehicle, so that the vehicle front crossbeam must be attached farther behind.
Whichever the constitution or type of the transparent area of the roof, the user requires means for protection against the light that may pass through the transparent area, both from the front and from above.
To protect from the light that may arrive from the front, visors are traditionally used attached to the front crossbeam of traditional roofs.
To protect from the light that may arrive vertically, roofs of the type described above are traditionally provided with a sunshade device that allows to cover or uncover the transparent area of the roof at the user's will.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,789 discloses a roof of such type, in which the sunshade device consists of a panel that slides between a retracted position and an extended position towards the front, which provides protection against light incident vertically. The panel can carry visors for protection against light that arrives from the front. This system includes a central console that juts out of the vehicle roof and which may constitute a hazard in case of accident. In addition, the system does not include actuation means that allow selecting and fixing any position of the panel between the extended and retracted positions. In addition, the structure required is relatively bulky and complex.
Document EP 332736 describes a sunshade device constituted by visors that can be stowed between the vehicle roof and its trimming. This system is applicable when the transparent area has relatively small dimensions.
In addition, all of the described systems are conceived to cover a transparent area with a constant width, and thus are not applicable to roofs that widen gradually towards the front on their anterior part and in which the transparent area shares this characteristic.
The object of the present invention is to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks by a sunshade for vehicle roofs of the type described, which does not include elements that may imply a risk for the occupants and that ensures their integrity and safety, without any accidental displacements of the sunshade device that are not controlled by the user.
Another object of the invention is to provide a sunshade system that can be easily operated with a simple operation mechanism and constitution.
An object of the invention is to provide a sunshade applicable on transparent areas whose width increases gradually towards the front of the vehicle and that adapts to the various dimensions of its roof when it moves from its end retracted and extended positions.
The sunshade of the invention is in addition easy to mount, lightweight and sturdy and may be conceived as a modular assembly attached to the vehicle roof, applicable to panoramic roofs and to roofs with panoramic windshields